Chapter 127 - 3.23

Xu Jiaqi and Xie Yongrui continued their conversation, with the latter sometimes falling into the lovely girl's traps and getting teased harshly.

After some time, Xu Jiaqi's curiosity began to spike.

"Though, my lord, what have you been doing all this time? Were you really not planning on doing anything on your own? Judging from your character.. I'm afraid that I would have to say.. this place isn't the only one your honor has control over." 

The System hadn't finished his trip to gather valuable information, but from what she had received so far, Xie Yongrui's position was really not as simple as just a former Prince who managed to obtain Xian Ruo.

It was interesting, to say the least. For example, a personnel that was there the day she accidentally fell into the famous restaurant. There was one who went by the name Zheng Jianyu, at least when he worked.

Zheng Jianyu was quite the interesting figure. He was someone who rose out of nowhere, starting out as a simple merchant to then later soar so high that he ended up becoming the prime minister of the nearby Xi Kingdom.

Xi Kingdom. Besides the Empire, there were a total of three kingdoms.

The Xi, the Bei, and the An. Each had their own respective defining qualities that made them stand out from the rest.

The Xi Kingdom excelled in raising money. They were the central of the world's trading route. The land of brilliant merchants and entrepreneurs. In terms of wealth, they were even matched up with the Empire. The land was rich, so rich that what would be considered a wealthy person in the other places would just be a normal citizen in the Xi Kingdom. Many valuable objects were processed there, and they also had a substantial amount of the world's artifacts.

The Bei Kingdom was ruled by the human known as the strongest person in the entire world. It was a land dedicated specifically for warriors and strong people, and it was very detached from the rest of the world, who began to form connections with each other in order to better their situations. They were more focused on strength, and believed that brute force was the greatest helper they could obtain.

Lastly, the An Kingdom was quite mediocre. Perhaps it was because they had a streak of unlucky rulers who weren't as competent as they needed to be, their conditions had been worsening ever since they started to come down from their peak of glory. There had been a time where they were the most excellent out of the bunch. When they had the most authority, going head to head with the Empire. But alas, all of that were now buried under the sheets, and their success was deteriorating at a pace so rapid that people were betting how long they would continue to exist at this rate.

The Empire was the Empire because it stood in the middle of all these powers, holding those three sectors fairly well to the point that the other kingdoms had to step out so as to not tip the balance. Economy, military, and authority. It wasn't the best at any of them, but it had more than what each country had to offer in total.

In that said Xi Kingdom, Zheng Jianyu as known as such. 'The Devil's Scale'.

He was someone who could accurately assess and reap profits from making transactions left and right, from a small scale to a massive one. He was known to have never made a mistake in his career. So perfect that people began to call him the Devil, referring to how crazy his actions were.

The word scale came from how he would always use the analogy of give and take in his every action. What he would receive must be greater than what he would pay. Mirroring the character of the Devil even more. It sounded villainous, but in actual situations, it wasn't like he committed a daylight robbery.

It was more of 'he had an eye for things'. A special intuition that allowed him to pick the best out of the best, things that would make him be able to trade for more and pay less. The best qualities a merchant should have were all gathered inside this person.

For someone like him to have met Xie Yongrui in such a situation.. There had to be something deeper lying by.

Though, there was no point in her trying so hard to hypothesize about it. When the System came back with the results, she would finally draw a conclusion out of it. She had little to no concrete evidence as of now. The matter of the other kingdoms.. could pose a threat to her future, but she only had to focus on getting stronger right now.

"..That is both right and wrong. It's just as you say, Qiqi. The rise of this new Emperor wasn't as smooth and sailing as it was mentioned in the news. In fact, many didn't sit well with the idea." Xie Yongrui laughed in a low tone.

"Does your honor not plan on using them? They would be great allies. Just like you are poaching these talented figures... I reckon we could also start acquiring other regions. I will gladly compose plans that would lead us to that moment if your honor wishes for it to happen." Xu Jiaqi tapped her fingers on the table as she smiled happily.

"Good lord. Really, can you only talk about destruction all day? Why don't we talk about a lighter subject so that we could enjoy our time better?"

With every single sentence they spoke of, it would always return back to this subject. It made him wonder, why was she so inclined to lean towards conquering the world? What was her motivation?

"Ao? But I thought my lord also liked these kinds of subjects. I like it, you like it, so why not? Is it unpleasant? Talking to me about it. I could stop if you wish me to."

"That's not the case. I originally didn't pick you up to be a consultant or whatever you wanted to be. If you just stayed beside me, you would've filled your purpose. Now that you're going out this far just to serve me.."

Xie Yongrui hesitated and stopped his words.